Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Facebook has all the social graces of a nose-picking, hyperactive six-year-old, standing at the threshold of your attention and chanting, "I know something, I know something, I know something, won't tell you what it is!"

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

A cable dangling from the ceiling, coiled into a bucket, blocked off with movable barriers appeared in South Station yesterday. Some folks did not know what to make of this odd combination. For those who have been around for some time, they realized that this means the trains are coming.

No, those always are coming. The model train set that appears for the holidays will soon be set up. This delivers the power for the model trains to run.

It is that time of month again when one can stop, and reflect on what has happened, and realize how much we have learned amidst all that has transpired.

1 - Franklin Matters - I split off my writing about Franklin, MA to a new blog. No, it does not go counter to my move for simplicity, I think it actually helps it. I love that the focus on Franklin Matters will be all things Franklin. Steve's 2 Cents will revert to being the combination of the rest of me not already covered elsewhere.

3 - Podcast feed problems can be tricky. Especially when the root cause was a single desktop system somewhere that was attempting to down load two of my podcasts multiple times but only partly each time. Since the number of times exceeded 18,000 in each case, it must have been some rogue program and not someone who listened to the sound of my voice. :-)

5 - 19 syllables is sometimes all that is necessary to condense a book. I found several good quotes from Madeleine L'Engles' book A Circle of Quiet which I sprinkled around here, here, here and here. Then after finishing the book one night, I laid down to go to sleep and found my mind racing. I leaped up to write those thoughts down before they disappeared into the ether or where ever they go and ended up with this.

Monday, November 26, 2007

The news out of MLS is that Andy Dorman has turned down a contract to continue playing for the New England Revolution and will seek his future back home in England.

Andy was a good midfielder and will still be. I feel he was playing out of position in the advanced role (after Clint Dempsey left). He had his best games when he was playing back along side Shalrie Joseph. He would have been productive wide right but with Wells Thompson (and his great speed) making so much progress that was not an option.

Jeff Larentowicz needs to emulate Andy's runs to offense. He has the defensive role down cold.

Who will come in during the off-season to compete with those remaining for the starting eleven? Only time will tell.

... even before it opens, "The Golden Compass" finds itself at the center of a controversy. The Catholic League, a conservative religious organization, launched a campaign on Oct. 9 calling on all Catholics to boycott the film. The group also published a lengthy pamphlet attacking the story and distributed the pamphlet to Catholic schools across the country. Other groups have joined the fray, including the evangelical nonprofit Focus on the Family, whose magazine Plugged In urged parents to keep kids out of theaters showing the film. And the Christian blogosphere is alive with warnings not only about the movie trilogy, but also about the series of books it is based on.

I'll wager that the majority of those complaining have yet to read one of the three books. I have read and re-read them and I am working on completing a re-read of the trilogy prior to Dec 7th. I appreciate and agree with the sentiments in the Boston Globe article by Donna Freitas, who writes:

These books are deeply theological, and deeply Christian in their theology. The universe of "His Dark Materials" is permeated by a God in love with creation, who watches out for the meekest of all beings - the poor, the marginalized, and the lost. It is a God who yearns to be loved through our respect for the body, the earth, and through our lives in the here and now. This is a rejection of the more classical notion of a detached, transcendent God, but I am a Catholic theologian, and reading this fantasy trilogy enhanced my sense of the divine, of virtue, of the soul, of my faith in God.

The book's concept of God, in fact, is what makes Pullman's work so threatening. His trilogy is not filled with attacks on Christianity, but with attacks on authorities who claim access to one true interpretation of a religion. Pullman's work is filled with the feminist and liberation strands of Catholic theology that have sustained my own faith, and which threaten the power structure of the church. Pullman's work is not anti-Christian, but anti-orthodox.

For all the years riding the commuter rail into Boston and back, there have only been two times where I was so engrossed into my book that I nearly missed getting off at the Franklin stop. Both times, I was reading the Golden Compass. And if you have read much of what I have written here and elsewhere, you know I read a lot.

With my naked intellect I cannot believe in God, particularly a loving God. My intellect is convinced that any idea of the person's continuing and growing after death is absurd; logic goes no further than dust to dust. Images, in the literary sense of the word, take me much further. Without my glasses I can see nothing but a vague blur. When I put them on, I become functional. But who is doing the seeing? The lenses of the spectacles are not. I am. There is an essential, ontological me --- that part of me which is not consumed in the burning --- which is (to use imagery again) that which I was created to be, the imaginative Adam and Eve as they were in the pre-history days of the Garden. Some of our children talk of going back to the garden; we can't do that; but we can travel in the direction which will lead us to that place where we may find out who we really are.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

I do hope the Patriots have a plan for the traffic. Going to the New England Revolution soccer games has been more challenging than usual with the construction underway in areas that used to be stadium parking. With so many more folks going to the Patriots' games, I can just image what a mess it could be.

Team officials plan to enforce parking restrictions in the lots around the Patriot Place stores. Shoppers will get tickets that allow vehicles to be parked for free in lots next to the stores, but there will be time restrictions to keep out tailgaters and people attending the game.

So I guess that also means that you shouldn't plan on stopping at one of the stores to do any shopping before the game.

Why is it that we learn from the things that hurt us? Why do we need pain before we can grow? There aren't any easy answers to this one, but all artists know the truth of it, and not only artists: it was Jung who said that there is no coming to life without pain.

Friday, November 23, 2007

The Sherlock's are gathering at our place later today to continue our Thanksgiving celebration. Here is a sample of what it looked like when the Proulx daughters gathered. Clockwise from the top left corner:

The table was set for all to sit together. No kids table this year

The serving plates were all marked for what was meant to go in them. This made it easy for many hands to make light work

Sunday evening was clear and luminous so we went to the star-watching rock and welcomed the arrival of each star with a blast of a trumpet. We lay there, in an odd assortment of coats; I had on an embroidered coat a friend had bought in Dubrovnik; the two girls had on ancient fur coats; and we were covered with blankets. We needed them, even though the rock itself still held the warmth of the sun, our own star, and radiated a gentle heat to us as we lay there and watched the sky, blowing the trumpets and sharing a can of insect repellent and listening to the crickets and the katydids and trying to identify the other night singers, and then outsinging them with all the nursery rhymes and songs and hymns we could think of which had stars and alleluias in them.And I was totally back in joy. I didn't realize I had been out of it, caught in small problems and disappointments and frustrations, until it came surging back. It was as radiant as the rock, and I lay there listening to the girls trumpeting, and occasionally being handed one of the trumpets so that I could make a loud blast myself, and I half expecting to hear a herd of elephants come thundering across the far pastures in answer to our call.And joy is always a promise.

On the way to Dolores' mother's house for the family gathering and dinner on Thanksgiving, we played Arlo Guthries' Alice's Restaurant which we used to be able to catch on one or more radio stations but since we managed to get our CD of Arlo's greatest hits, we are no longer dependent upon the radio waves to continue this tradition.

More than 100 graves were discovered when an aerial photo, showing evidence of an Iron Age site, gave freelance archaeologist Steve Sherlock clues to the “buried treasure”.

The amazing finds, including gold and silver brooches dating back to the 7th century, look certain to have connections with the ancient Kings of Northumbria.

Steve, 53, formerly of Redcar, described it as “the find of a lifetime”.

The excavations began in 2005 and continued under Steve's supervision with help from Tees Archaeology and local volunteers, working four to six weeks every summer. They have covered an area the size of half a football pitch near Loftus, discovering a cemetery of 109 burials.

The items are thought to have been buried after 650AD at the time St Hilda was trying to establish a monastery at Hartlepool and later at Whitby.

So my hope, each day as I grow older, is that this will never be simply chronological aging --- which is a nuisance and frequently a bore --- the old 'bod' at over a half a century has had hard use; it won't take what it did a few years ago --- but that I will also grow into maturity, where the experience can be acquired only through chronology will teach me how to be more aware, open, unafraid to be vulnerable, involved, committed, to accept disagreement without feeling threatened (repeat and underline this one), to understand that I cannot take myself seriously until I stop taking myself seriously --- to be, in fact, a true adult.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The news in the Globe today reported that the commuter rail was late 30% of the time in October. For the Franklin line in particular, the on time record was only 60.9%

I think that is high. I do not recall a train during the last couple of months that was on time. The outbound are more late (10-15 minutes) than the inbound (5-10 minutes) but late is a regular occurrence recently.

Far too many people misunderstand what putting away childish things means, and think that forgetting what it is like to think and feel and touch and smell and taste and see and hear like a three-year-old or a thirteen-year-old or a twenty-three-year-old means being grownup. When I'm with these people I, like the kids, feel that if this is what is meant by being a grownup, then I don't ever want to be one.

One night after dinner a group of us were talking about the supernatural, and one of our dinner guests said that when the electric light was invented people began to lose the dimension of the supernatural. In the days before we could touch a switch and flood every section of the room with light, there were always shadows in the corner, shadows which moved in the candlelight, with firelight; and those shadows were an outward and visible sign that things were not always what they seem; there are things which are not visble to the mortal human being; there are things beyond our ken.

My father has had some recent health issues. Yes, he is getting as much older each day as I am. Hard as that is to believe as it is to accept, we are as young as we will ever be. This has forced my siblings and I to face some issues with his health, his driving, and his medical coverage. I found Caring.com and a quick read shows it to be a good source of information. For example:

Found this article on Wired that caught my eye, especially since I have used a couple of Flickr photos recently that were thus marked.

Yahoo's photo-sharing site, Flickr, has been an early and enthusiastic supporter of Creative Commons licenses. But there's one aspect of the licenses that Flickr doesn't respect: Users can remove the Creative Commons designation from their photos -- even though that may violate the terms of the license.

Creative Commons offers several licenses that people can attach to their creations as alternatives to more-restrictive copyright protection. Under CC licensing, content creators can indicate that their works are OK to republish under various specific conditions. Once applied to a creative work, Creative Commons licenses are supposed to be permanent

and this is the kicker:

Flickr provides more flexibility to photographers than Creative Commons does. On the popular photo-sharing site, users can switch photos back and forth -- without limitation -- between CC licenses and "all rights reserved" copyrights.

Read the full posting here to see what you can do to protect yourself if you have used a Creative Commons licensed picture that then changes its license.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The girls came home from college today to help celebrate the long weekend. Allison navigated the traffic and weather to pick up her sister in Boston and make it back to Franklin before my (late) train got me home. We all made it safely, sat for a good family dinner and discussion to catch up on what's been happening.

Why Family Matters Research shows that the benefits of family dinners go far beyond nutrition. A recent study from the University of Minnesota reported that teens who had regular meals with their parents had better grades and were less likely to be depressed. From Harvard came word that chances are slimmer—by 15%—that children will be overweight if they eat with their families. Researchers at Emory University found that preteens whose parents tell family stories at dinner have higher self-esteem and better peer relations during adolescence. And a study out with sexually active friends. And 12- and 13-year-olds with limited family dinners are a staggering six times more likely to have used marijuana. The study also revealed that 84% of teens said they’d rather eat withtheir parents than alone.

In an unprecedented feat of biological alchemy, researchers have turned human skin cells into stem cells that hold the same medical promise as controversial embryonic stem cells.

Two teams of researchers -- one led by Kyoto University's Shinya Yamanaka, the other by the University of Wisconsin's Junying Yu -- used a virus to add four new genes to skin cells. Thus transformed, the reprogrammed cells became capable of changing into nearly any cell type in the human body. Embryonic stem cells also have this ability, and may someday be used to cure degenerative diseases, grow new organs and even replace limbs.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

I love PBS. I listen regularly to WGBH 89.7 FM for Celtic Sojourn, Folk, and Prairie Home Companion as my top three shows. I don't like the pledge breaks but understand their need and contribute yearly.

The WGBH web site is severely lacking in user friendliness, especially for members.

You can login I suppose and not be a member, which starts the problem. Because when you do login, you are not asked for your member number. You are asked to become a member. But if you already are, that doesn't help.

And if you go from the home page (already logged in) to the Shop to purchase something with you member discount, you get a big banner across the top asking you to become a member to save more. More what? I already am a member and you don't recognize that.

In order to get the member discount you are directed to go to the Member Benefits page and obtain the code. I got into a loop twice but did not find a code. I did find plenty of info on how to become a member and what the membership options are but I already am a member (did I say that already?).

I saved myself further frustration by looking at the membership card I dug out of my wallet and was happy to find the elusive code there. Halleluiah!

Given the hassle of this site, I won't be spending too much time or money here. The member discount was equally offset by the shipping cost.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

This is a slick web site that gathers and presents information from the 2000 Census for a specific zip code. I set this up for Franklin. Once on the site, you can change the zip code to check another one, or compare up to ten others with Franklin.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Sitting with my father on an easy going Sunday afternoon, we're recording new episodes in Jerry's Story when the phone rings.

My daughter Allison, a senior in college, was calling to say she had accepted her boyfriend's offer of marriage. She and Brad will have a long engagement as Brad is planning on heading to law school when they both graduate in May 2008. We'll get to see them when she comes home for Thanksgiving, in the meantime, she sent us a picture of the ring.

Good thing I am sitting down. I wonder how Dolores is taking the news. She is off on a shopping expedition. Allison had already talked to Dolores. She caught her in a dressing room trying on a new outfit. Fortunately, there was a bench there for Dolores to sit on while she talked. I don't know the details if that outfit was selected or not, she did come home with a bunch of bags, so I at least know the news was not so distracting that it stopped her from letting the store register ring.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Digging into the past, I found Steve Forbert's web site. He has a couple of videos posted there. One of them; "Strange Names (North New Jersey's Got'em)" is simple and cool.

Having lived in NJ for the better part of 13 years, with both daughters born there (yes, they are Jersey girls!), the concept of crafting the lyrics around the names of the towns is something I would have done. He sings far better than I do so enjoy!

Friday, November 09, 2007

I am making the break to create a new home for all that matters for Franklin. Appropriately called "Franklin Matters", this new site will contain all my writing on Franklin. This site will revert to the Sherlock family items and other incidentals that don't fit in one of my other sites.

An updated run down on what I write and where:

Franklin Matters: the new home of "Where in Franklin?" and all town, budget, school and other local matters.

Jerry's Story: I am recording the oral history of my father (Gerald Sherlock) and our family. We have recorded his early days and up to World War II and are currently working on the post-war period. We have quite a few stories to record.

The Eastern Conference Final between the New England Revolution and the Chicago Fire started off with some pizazz as there were fireworks timed for the "rockets red glare" during the national anthem. The End Zone Militia did their usual volley when the Rev's were introduced.

The End Zone Militia fired once more during the game with Taylor Twellman scored on a marvelous bicycle kick between two defenders to provide the wining goal. The Revs topped the Fire 1-0 and head to the MLS Cup for the 3rd straight year.

It does not matter much to Franklin voters that some of their candidates (and now elected officials) are willing to violate the law that they created and should be obeying.

While the Franklin voters have been lapping at the trough of Commonwealth funds (50% of the town revenue comes from Chap 70 funding), they decided not to spend a little more to gain a little more and rejected the Community Preservation Act.

The Planning Board incumbents were given a message that a change in how Franklin conducts business with developers was needed.

The School Committee candidates ran without opposition. One new face took the top vote count however as M Kelly replaced MJ Schofield. Is this the same Kelly as associated with the Brick classroom? Let’s look to see what he can do for the whole district now!

The split tax rate proponents did not gain a seat running on their platform. Just as well, the split tax rate is not a solution for Franklin. Franklin needs to grow the pie not split it.

The Ben Franklin seal in the Town Council chambers reads “Industry need not wish”. This translated to our modern interpretation means that the hard work that got Franklin to these top rankings is still required. If we continue to work hard, good things will happen.

Congratulations to all the newly elected folks! Your work is cut out for you.

Good luck to all those who gave it their best. Stay involved. A good discussion requires two sides for the conversation. The Franklin problem can not be solved by any one person or group, it will take coordination, cooperation, collaboration, and many conversations to keep Franklin a quality place to live.

Vallee called the topic a nonissue and said the reaction was overblown.

I disagree. I think it shows what kind of leadership some of our candidates possess. Those who are in charge of setting the laws for the town should not be able to flaunt the law. They won't get my vote.

And while we are on the topic of signs: doesn't the ordinance limit the signs to 6 per property? Who is in charge of enforcing it?

The new medical building on the corner of Union and King has 7 signs this morning. Two of them are from Councilor McGann, so taking one of his down would bring the property into compliance!

Saturday, November 03, 2007

A. The Community Preservation Act is a state, local option law that allows communities to establish a local dedicated fund for open space preservation, historic preservation, and affordable community housing. Communities that adopt CPA can better manage growth, preserve community character, and strengthen and vitalize their community. They also become eligible for other state, federal, and private sources of funds. The state favors CPA communities in determining eligibility for grants in many of its programs.

Q. It is my understanding that Franklin will raise $1,000,000 a year if the CPA passes. What type of assurance will the public get that the funds will be used for said purposes?

A.By state law, the CPA funds can only be used for the three (four including active outdoor recreational lands and facilities) CPA purposes.

Q. I thought the Hotel Tax buys open space?

A. The annual set-aside of the hotel tax from our 3 hotels is voted each year at the discretion of the Town Council. This policy can be changed by the Council, and there has been discussion by Council members of this possibility in the next fiscal year. [Note that even if this step is taken, the monies already set aside will remain dedicated to open space purchases in the future.] Also, please recall that the hotel tax fund is not available for the other two community needs CPA would fund: historic preservation and housing that’s affordable. CPA should not be seen as “just” for any one of the three purposes, but it will Franklin take care of all three needs.

Q. Isn’t the money set aside for open space enough?

A. The money set aside for conservation could very quickly be used up if any one of several large (over 100 acre) properties are offered to the Town.

Q. Franklin is so big now! What’s left to protect?

A. The Land Use Committee is working on an update to the Franklin Open Space and Recreation Plan. The previous plan identifies priorities and opportunities for future conservation efforts. There are many hundreds of acres of farms and other open space which are not protected. These include over 500 acres at the Mount St. Mary’s Abbey on Upper Union Street and the Camp Hyastan property on Summer Street, next to our Town Forest.

Chapter 61 lands on which the town has the right of first refusal include: privately owned farms and forest land, two golf courses, and a private a day camp. Some Chapter 61 lands could potentially help protect current water supplies or provide future water supplies.

Q. Who decides how to spend the money raised through CPA?

A. A local Community Preservation Committee will be established by bylaw in Franklin after adoption of the CPA, to administer the program locally. Establishment of this local committee is a required part of participating in the CPA. Under the terms of CPA law, “the Community Preservation Committee shall consist of 5-9 members, and must include one representative each from the local conservation, parks, and historical commissions; planning board; and housing authority. If a municipality has not established one or more of these boards or commissions, a representative serving in a similar capacity can be appointed to the committee. The other members of the committee, if any, may be appointed or elected, as provided in the bylaw or ordinance adopted to establish the committee.”

Q. If passed, over 5 years CPA could net $5m just in the local raise. All this money will not go to the Library. How is the money portioned out?

A. Local residents determine how the funds will be spent each year. All CPA projects must be approved by Town Council. So if the library repairs are a priority, the funds will be channeled to that project by the town. At least 10% of the money raised must be given to each of the three major categories of eligible projects. The rest (70%) may be devoted to one of the three needs, if the community wishes. Also, no more than 5% of the CPA funds can be spent on ‘administrative’ costs.

This means 65% of the fund is “flexible” and can be added to the 10% minimum for a specific project. For instance, the Community Preservation Committee might decide to direct 10% plus 65% -- or 75% total – for the historic repairs.

Q. If the Library is the top priority for the Town, how much would be left for other types of CP projects?

A.At least 10% of the money raised must be given to each of the three major categories of eligible projects. If the CPA raises $1 million, plus the state grant, there would be at least $100,000 available for open space/recreation projects and $100,000 available for housing needs projects. The rest (70%) may be devoted to one of the three needs, if the community wishes.

Q. How long would CPA remain in effect?

A. There is a five year mandatory trial period with the CPA program, so at minimum, the CPA surcharge would last for five years from the date of adoption of the program. However, a community can choose to lower (or raise) its CPA surcharge, and or change the optional exemptions it has chosen at any time, including within this first five year period. After five years, a community may opt out of the program by the same mechanism it used to adopt it - legislative body vote followed by a ballot election. No community with CPA has yet chosen to opt out of the program after five years.

Q. How can I figure my actual CPA contribution if my home is worth more or less than the “$437,000 average” home in Franklin?

A. The average Franklin homeowner will owe $90 to the local CPA fund annually, based on FY07 DOR tax figures and the average residential property value of $437,000. Individual homeowners will owe more or less to the local CPA fund, based on the value of their property. First, deduct the $100,000 residential exemption from your assessed value. Then, re-calculate your tax owed on this reduced value. Then, once you have the reduced tax, calculate 3% of that for the CPA.

Q. I’ve heard there is no guarantee that the state will provide funding or a match.

A. This is incorrect. Every community that participates in CPA is guaranteed an annual state match of from 5% to 100% of what they have raised locally with their CPA surcharge. Each year so far, including this year (just last week), the state has been able to match what each CPA community has raised at a rate of 100%. This is most likely the last year that the state will have enough funds to match what each community raises locally at the 100% rate, but the Community Preservation Coalition has submitted legislation which, if passed, would guarantee a minimum of a 75% match for each participating CPA community each year.

Q. It is my understanding that in 2010, the Town of Franklin will have the ability to borrow more money in the form of Bonds for the Library repairs without placing a strain on the town budget.

A. Communities that adopt CPA can also bond against the locally raised portion of the funds.

Q. Is CPA a permanent “over-ride” on the allowed Prop 2 ½ tax levy?

A.CPA is not an override. CPA does not raise the town’s established levy. Prop 2 ½ is still in effect. CPA does not affect the tax rate of the community. It is a surcharge on individuals' property tax bills.

Please vote on Question 1, Tuesday, November 6Polls Open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.at the Franklin High School Fieldhouse